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Happy Birthday Paddington 6.

PADDY: "Thank you for the delicious birthday cake Daddy! I love it!"

 

SCOUT: "Thank you Daddy! I think this cake is delicious too! I don't think I'll have a grumbly tummy after eating this cake... at least for a little while!" *Giggles.*

 

PADDY: "Hullo everyone! Do you know what? Bears have two birthdays. Do you know what else? Today is one of my birthdays! And do you know what else? Today is my Daddy's birthday too! Isn't that a wonderful coincidence! Now Scout and I are not allowed to use the oven for fear of singeing our plush fur, so even though it is his birthday, Daddy has been so kind and has baked me a birthday cake! It is an orange poppyseed cake, so almost a marmalade cake. Grumby tummy Daddy! Grumbly tummy!" * Rubs tummy vigorously. "Isn't Daddy nice to do that just for me? I can't eat that cake all by myself, even with a grumbly tummy, so I am having a birthday party. I have invited Scout and Daddy of course. I've also asked my pug dog Cabbage, his little sister Lettuce and Duckie to come along, and also Chippy the monkey who lives in the front room. I know that everyone who I've asked to come will enjoy the occasion!

 

If today is your birthday too, I'd like to wish you a very happy birthday full of big little bear hugs and snuffly birthday kisses. Even if it isn't, I'd like to wish you a very happy day full of big little bear hugs and snuffly kisses. Would you like some cake too?"

 

This beautiful nursery tea set is made by the Shell China company in the 1920s. It features six cups, saucers and plates (not all the set is being used today) as well as a teapot, milk jug and sugar bowl, all gilt and featuring different nursery rhymes including: "The Queen of Hearts", "Sing a Song of Sixpence", "Ride a Cock-Horse to Banbury Cross", "Goosey-Goosey Gander", "There Was a Little Man who had a Little Gun", "Jack and Jill" and "To Market to Market to Buy a Fat Pig". The set was a gift to me from a close friend. The platter on which Paddington's birthday cake sits featuring "Little Red Riding Hood" is from a sister faerie tale pantomime nursery dinner set made by the Shell China Company in the 1930s. Each guest at the tea party also has a tiny doll (bear) sized nursery napkin which is hand embroidered with a donkey motif. There are also doll (bear) sized tea spoons which are sterling silver salt spoons, and the spoon in the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" sugar bowl is an Eighteenth Century sterling silver mustard spoon. Their dessert spoons are sterling silver coffee spoons made by James Dixon and Sons in London in 1921.

 

My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his mackintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.

 

He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.

 

Scout was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.

 

Travelling all the way from London, Cousin Paddington was caught in transit thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic. After so long here he has decided to stop with us permanently. That makes me happy, as the more I look into his happy, smiling face, the more attached I am becoming to him.

 

Bogart has travelled all the way from Georgia, via Alabama as a gift to me from a friend. He has lovely Southern manners and seems to be a fun and gentle soul with an inquisitive nature.

 

Chippy the monkey came to live with me when I was four. His name is derived from his innards, which are broken chips of hazelnut shells. He was made in America some time in the mid Twentieth Century. He features beautiful brown glass eyes, a felt face, hands and feet. He was given to me by one of my Grandfather's friends who worked in a small high street toy shop which sold a mixture of new, vintage and antique toys. Chippy was vintage at the time, and had been well loved prior, so with a few holes, some worn plush and patches, he was too worn to be sold, but my family friend knew that my gentle nature and respect for my toys meant he could find a new home with me for a long time. All these decades later, she was proven right, for he still lives with me; a bit more loved, a bit more worn and with a few more patches. He also has some red chalk marks on his right hand which I remember putting on him by accident when I was six! He wanted to draw a rose on my chalkboard and I helped him do it!

 

Cabbage is Paddy's Pug Dog. He was a gift to Paddy from a friend who also likes Pugs. He is fiercely loyal to Paddy, Scout, Cousin Paddington and Bogart, but seldom stays around long enough to have his picture taken, as there are always new adventures to sniff out.

 

Lettuce was a present from my two goddaughters to me to keep Cabbage company. My eldest Goddaughter, Polly, wisely suggested the name Lettuce since we already have Cabbage. She is very soft and sweet natured. She likes cuddles and warm laps a lot and like her older brother Cabbage she likes to sniff out adventures.

 

Duckie is a recent addition to the family. I saw her when I was at a Sunday market on a stall of homemade knitted and crocheted items. She caught my eye straight away with her happy, smiley face and bright colours. I think she finds life with my bears intriguing and perhaps a little confusing, however she is learning.

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Uploaded on September 16, 2021
Taken on September 16, 2021